Met Your Match
by GallagherLovee
Summary: The BAU has company; High School Interns. When Dr. Reid and one of the interns don't get off on the right foot, well Dr. Reid might have met his match in a young genius slash high school beauty. Reid/OC


Dr. Reid had just gotten into the office on Monday morning when the elevator doors open. He was sitting behind his desk drinking his coffee when the elevator door opened at 8:25 am. He expected it to be Morgan running late, but was surprised at what the opening doors revealed. Instead of finding Morgan alone and frantic looking he saw Morgan, laughing and escorting three teenagers.

Dr. Reid isn't easily puzzled or confused. In fact, there are very few instances in which he doesn't have a logical answer. But, in this certain instance, Reid was very confused. Teenagers had no place in the BAU, Morgan knew that. Hotch would be very upset to know that he was personally escorting three teenagers into the office. So, it was a look of apprehension that graced Reid's face as Morgan drew nearer with the three insolents in tow. Reid studied the three of them as they came closer, always the profiler. There were two boys, both about 5'10. One was skinny and has a close cut hair cut and striking blue eyes, the other male has curly hair that grew out over her eyes he was thicker than the other boy. Then there was the girl, she held herself in front of both of the boys and was extremely small. She cleared maybe 5 feet. What caught Reid's eye though, wasn't her long curly brown hair, the fact that she out of the three looked the most professional, her 3 inch pumps didn't catch his eye either, what caught Dr. Reid's eye was that her arms were covered in colorful scars. And, she didn't seem introverted or overly confident. It was a walking exception to the rules of profiling.

Morgan approached Reid's desk with the trio trailing behind.

"Reid," Morgan started "I'd like you to meet the new interns. The BAU has chosen these three to….evaluate the organization to see if this is a career that they would like joining." Reid just nodded, trying to hide his level of surprise. How were teenagers supposed to help the BAU, they would most likely just get in their way.

"You know," a voice interrupted his inner thoughts "I really don't your derogatory look _Dr. Reid._" His name rolled of her tongue like venom and he looked up at her in surprise. His eyes were met with her red painted lips pursed in fury and her eyes squinted. Her two "colleagues" shook their heads from behind her and Morgan scoffed in surprise. "And, I'll have you know I was chosen for this opportunity just as you were. And I would expect someone of your prowess, so to speak, to be a little more welcoming than that." Reid couldn't speak, no one in this office had ever spoken to him like that before, and Morgan was doing nothing about it. "Lovely meeting you Dr. Reid," and she smiled. _Smiled._ It took Morgan a minute for him to realize that it was time to move on with the introductions.

She left his desk leaving Dr. Reid for the very first time, speechless. And he didn't even know her name.

Reid had left his desk to get a cup of coffee and when he returned he found an expecting Morgan waiting for him.

"She ripped you a new one."

Well, thank you Morgan for stating the obvious, Reid thought.

"And thank you for standing there and letting me have it, with zero interference," Reid replied still hurt by the fact that Morgan did nothing.

"You deserved it."

"Excuse me ?"

"Listen," Morgan began "she had a valid point. You should've seen your face it was…disgusted almost. You automatically wrote them off as some nuisance kids that won't benefit us in anyway."

Reid took a second and realized how he might have jumped to conclusions, and felt guilty.

"The built one is Ezekiel. He has early acceptation to Stanford, Yale, and Harvard, he's only going to be a junior in high school next year. The skinnier one is Christopher, the Air Force is paying for him to explore his options so that he can be of optimal use to them. And your new best friend, Chelsea, is all of the above. Early acceptances in the 8th grade, but turned them all down to go to high school and take free college classes. Top of her class, and currently has two degrees in Psychology, Behavioral Sciences, Environmental Science, and Pre-Med. Like Chris, the Air Force is paying for her to do whatever she likes as long as her 'talents are optimized fully to create the best outcome' even if she chose not to be in the Air Force. So maybe next time, you should think about it, Reid. I think you've met your match."

"…I'm sorry." And, really he was. It was wrong of him to assume things and he remembered when he first came to the BAU and no one thought that he could be of any use because of his young age. Granted, he was 21 at the time, but he felt that he was doing the exact same thing to the newest additions to their team. Reid just looked up to Morgan with a terribly sad expression. There were times that Reid reminded Morgan of a puppy. "S-should I go and apologize?" Reid asked uncertainly. If there one thing that Reid was uncomfortable with was admitting he was wrong. Morgan nodded and pushed himself away from Reid's desk.

So with that Reid set off to find where the trio of under-aged over achievers were being kept. Luckily, he found the one named Ezekiel getting coffee not too far away from his desk. He took a deep breath in and went to face the inevitable. Reid got to the table just as Ezekiel was about to leave until Reid tapped him on the arm. The young boy put down his coffee and immediately started apologizing.

"Look dude, I am so sorry. She just can't control herself you know ? That was not how I pictured my first day at work."

Reid shook his head, "Actually, that's not why I was here. I was actually going to apologize about my rude behavior this morning. I shouldn't have judged you, any of you. And, I wanted to have the introduction that we never received this morning. I'm Spencer Reid." Reid held out his hand and the boy took it and continued to tell him that he would be preferred to be called Zeke. Ezekiel, apparently, took too much breath. And, that he didn't feel himself to be an Ezekiel. Whatever that meant. Zeke offered to introduce him to Christopher.

Zeke lead Reid around the corner into a cubicle where Christopher was busy setting up, adding personal touches to his own area. Things teenagers do to make themselves feel less intimidated by an unfamiliar area. The young boy swiveled in his chair, and stood up immediately.

"Dude, look…about this morning.."

Reid cut him off with his hand. "Don't apologize, it was completely my fault. I'm Spencer Reid."

"Chris Kent," the boy stated. "But, uhm…just call me Kent. It's more familiar."

Reid nodded, "Well, it's nice to meet you both…" Reid was cut off by a feminine voice calling Kent's name.

"Kent ! Did you steal my…" the voice trailed off as she rounded the corner and Reid realized that it was Chelsea, the young genius. She nodded curtly at him "Dr. Reid." And just like that her attention was turned back to the matter at hand. "Kent, did you steal my stack of manila folders ?"

"Steal ?" Kent asked incredulously "You gave them told me to carry them for you."

She smiled sweetly, "And now I would like them back. Please, Chrissy ?" Kent mumbled his disapproval of his nickname as he went searching for the manila folders that she so desperately needed. He found them and placed them in her hand. "You're amazing superman," she said. And she leaned up and kissed his cheek. They were dating ? Is that even allowed ? She winked and went back to her own office. And, then Reid realized, he should follow her. Follow her and apologize. So with a hasty 'see you around' to Kent, he made it out just in time to see her disappear into a cubicle three down and across from Kent's own.

He stood in the doorway and Chelsea was standing with her back to him and he watched as she arranged her desk, making room for the manila folders. For the first time, he took the time to appreciate her appearance. She was slender, but not too much so and you could tell that she worked out because of the muscled straining in her calves. She wore a plain black, high waisted shirt with a tucked in red satin shirt, and a pair of impossibly high red heels. Her hair was long and brown and it flowed down her back in soft curls. Since when had Reid taken such an interest in someone's clothing ? Sure, he complimented Garcia and Emily when they dressed up for special occasions, but it was always out of politeness, and not out of sheer interest.

Reid realized that he had been standing there watching her for much longer than what could be considered acceptable. As he went to make his presence known, she turned around and said, "May I help you Dr. Reid ?"

Reid quickly collected himself from the initial shock, and blurted out a quick "I'm sorry."

"That's a start." Chelsea's red lips quirked up into a small smirk.

"I-I shouldn't have judged you as quickly or as harshly as I did."

"Very well," she said turning back around.

He stood there puzzled, he had hoped for an 'It's fine, don't worry about it' type of response from her. "I don't _do_ apologizes Dr. Reid. They simply aren't my thing, so where I appreciate you realizing the errors of your ways, I will not stand here and say 'It's fine' because, frankly, its not. But, I will say…that I look forward to working with you Spencer."

He nodded, sensing that her statement was as close to an acceptance as he would get with Chelsea. He also noted the use of his first name, which proved that she had changed her demeanor toward him. He smiled, even though she couldn't see it.

"And, I very much look forward to working with you as well, Chelsea. I have a feeling that you and your friends will be more help to the BAU than anyone expects."

"Then, I'll see you at the meeting, Spencer." She had turned back around and had a coffee cup in her hand. She started to make her way toward the exit where Reid was still standing. She smiled politely and mumbled an "Excuse me," as she pushed by Reid.

As she pushed by him, Reid saw the scars on her arms more closely. They were all a dull color showing that they has long healed, but that their presence and story would be forever etched into her skin.

Reid pondered how someone could receive scars like that, but shook his head and headed back to his desk to prepare for the inevitably long day that was going to be in front of him.

Whilst waiting for the meeting to start, Reid has two more cups of coffee. Chelsea had four. The only way Reid knew this was because when Morgan saw her go back for her fourth cup, he sprinted to Reid's desk to shove in his face about how his morning coffee intake record had been broken and reset by someone half his height and weight.

Reid rolled his eyes at Morgan's antics. "Morgan, it was never a competition. So she likes coffee, that's great. You should write a book about it," Reid replied sarcastically never taking his eyes off of the large book he has his face shoved in and was quickly reading. Secretly, though Reid couldn't decide if he was happy or upset. He was glad that some one else in this office understood the vital importance of caffeine; he was upset because his record was never broken and here comes someone, who he didn't exactly get off on the right foot with, and she breaks his record in one single morning. Without trying, without even knowing that Reid was the current holder of the Most Coffee Ingested In One Single Morning. He was somewhat concerned, and slightly territorial. What if they stopped bugging Reid about his odd caffeine habits, and turned their attention to her instead. Reid felt like a small child who was worried about mommy and daddy turning more of their attention to a new brother or sister.

Reid decided that he wouldn't let it bother him, and that if anything he and Chelsea could bond over their mutual love for coffee. At 9:15 Hotch called a meeting and Reid dutifully put away his book and grabbed his notepad and pen and headed toward the meeting room.

Reid entered the room and Hotch, JJ, Morgan and Chelsea had already arrived. Her and Morgan were in a heated debate over something which he couldn't pick up on.

"No Derek, I am not lying about my firearm qualifications test ! I swear to god above that I scored a perfect score," Chelsea vehemently said.

Reid looked over astonished. "You took your qualifers test, already ?"

"Well, " she started uncomfortably "not the FBI one, just the firearm qualification to _own_ a firearm"

"And you received a perfect score ?" Reid asked deadpanned.

"Yes."

"You're lying," Morgan accused.

"I have the paperwork if you don't believe me."

Reid leaned over to stage whisper, "Morgan's just mad that someone beat his high score."

"I am not mad Reid," Morgan laughed. Then became serious again "I just don't believe her."

"Why not ?" Reid questioned.

"Because, well…._because."_

"Because I'm seventeen and a girl," Chelsea stated. "What Morgan doesn't know that I conducted a study on how what positively and negatively affected the accuracy and consistency of firearm shooting."

"And tell me," Morgan leaned forward "what did your tests yield ?"

"That caffeine ingestion negatively affect both accuracy and consistency…." A throat clearing cut her off and Reid looked around and took note that everyone had arrived. Chelsea mouthed 'Tell you later' to Reid before turning her attention to JJ and Hotch. Reid watched Chelsea open a George Washington University notebook and pull a pen out from behind her ear as she dutifully watched JJ and Hotch present their newest case. Reid turned his attention to them as well.

JJ and Hotch spoke of crimes in a Lubbock, Texas. A small very hick-like town. Four females had gone missing already. All high school students of the same high school. Apparently, the team was going to Texas, Reid thought.

The team was off then, making preparations for their departure, each went home and pack a bag big enough to accommodate them for up to three weeks. Reid was assigned to pick up the Zeke, Chelsea, and Kent. So he drove to where the BAU had provided them with small apartments and pulled up to the building and waited.

He had only been waiting for three minutes when out came the trio being rushed by Zeke out of the door. Both Chelsea and Chris were on the phone, but even with both of her hand occupied , one on the phone and the other on her very large suitcase, she managed to get her things in the back of the black SUV that Reid was driving. Zeke reached to open the passenger seat door for her and she mumbled a quick 'thank you' and returned her attention back to the phone.

"Yes sir. Yes, Lubbock sir. I'm not quite aware sir. Yes sir, I'll let you know. Okay sir. Fantastic, thank you sir. And, sir ? Tell them I miss them, please ?" Her voice wavered on her last sentence. She went from completely business to sad and remorseful. She almost sounded like she was….in pain. "Thank you sir." Her voice was barely above a whisper. Judging from the tone of her voice and the amount of respect that she had for the man on the other side of the phone, she was most likely talking to a superior of hers, but it was someone that she was comfortable with. Someone who knew other people, who she obviously missed terribly. It made Reid wonder, what did Chelsea give up to go explore with the BAU ?

The only sound in the car was Kent still speaking to someone on the other line, and Zeke had his headphones on and was reading some book on Einstein's theory. Chelsea however was silent, no headphone, she just folded her hands in her lap and pressed her forehead against the window.

Kent hung up with the person on the other line and leaned forward to gently shake Chelsea's shoulder. She turned around and in Reid's peripheral vision, he saw that her eyes were glistening. "Colonel Bean was informed of our departure," he said softly. She nodded and went to turn back around but Kent's hand caught her should and her looked into her eyes and knew what she was thinking. She wasn't the only one to leave something behind after all. "Hey, it's going to be okay ? Okay ? We're going to get through this." She closed her eyes and nodded silently and reached up and squeezed the hand that was still on her shoulder and turned back around.

There was no more talking the entire way to the airport. Unless you account for the endless chatter that was Reid's thoughts. What was so important to Kent and Chelsea that they both shared a mutual pain ? And what could make Chelsea, of all people, so…broken ? Reid felt himself profiling the other individuals in the car with him.

He started with Zeke. He was quiet, something that stemmed from the fact that he was extremely intelligent, he was used to people only wanting him for his mind, so he became introverted to preseve himself and avoid the pressure of others. But, he did open up, only around other intellectually advanced, though. In that enviroment, Zeke felt as if he could be himself and not worry about someone just needed to pass a class.

Kent- Kent had two loving parents waiting for him at home. He most likely got along with both of them also, it made him into his easygoing character. He was also the baby of the family, he always needed to be in the center of something. He was neither extremely spoiled or neglected with his parents. But, in fact received what he needed and then some of his wants. At school, Kent most likely didn't show that he was so smart and covered it up by being the class clown. He was also most likely to be involved with something at school to make him so disciplined.

Chelsea was harder though. She had a rough exterior, so it was obvious that something had happened in her life that created her that way. She most likely lived with only one parent, and this made her feel like she had to grow up faster. Then something happened, and Reid didn't know what, something changed the way she thought. They way she viewed people. It really, could be anything- a sudden death of a loved one, an unexpected change of plans that altered her. In class, Chelsea was viewed as cynical, but people knew she was intelligent. It was almost impossible not to. She didn't get into much trouble, but if she did, she could talk her way out of it. She was a sweet talker by nature, and when sweet talking didn't work, she could come hard and fast, putting into play her cold hard exterior. The exterior that Reid saw fall, even if it was only for a moment.

Reid tried to delve deeper into the three teenager's profiles, but didn't know much about them yet.

Reid finally pulled into the private airport where the BAU's jet was kept, and he realized that they were the last one's to arrive. He quickly assisted the teenager's with their bags, and loaded everyone's items into the lower compartment of the plane and boarded.

If the teenagers were in awe of the jet, they didn't show it. Chelsea had adopted a blank, emotionless mask, and Kent just looked….tired. Zeke was actually wiping sleep from his eyes, and took off his ridiculously large headphones.

The flight from Quantico, to Lubbock would take almost four hours. The team settled in for a long ride.


End file.
